Definitely not looking for something that heavy duty. The downside to the tow behind is there is no weight pushing down on it. With the John Deere blade, the weight of the tractor itself would force the blade to stay low, unless you hit something that's sturdy enough to lift the entire tractor.

I also am not ordering my X748SE with 3PT, in my opinion putting a 3PT on a machine so small is well, wasteful. So anything 3PT wise is useless to me.

01-22-2012, 05:58 PM

jenkinsph

Re: Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDTank

Definitely not looking for something that heavy duty. The downside to the tow behind is there is no weight pushing down on it. With the John Deere blade, the weight of the tractor itself would force the blade to stay low, unless you hit something that's sturdy enough to lift the entire tractor.

I also am not ordering my X748SE with 3PT, in my opinion putting a 3PT on a machine so small is well, wasteful. So anything 3PT wise is useless to me.

Gee, mighty opinionated not to have ever used one yet. The 3PT works better than you might think. The 3PT 647 tiller, landscape rake, boxblade, chipper, pinestraw rake and 5' rearblade are more capable than you think. Add to that some tow behind equipment such as the broadcast seeder and drag harrow and you can do quite alot.

People who have used these mowers are not as concerned about the SE seat since it hinders watching the 3PH implements. Just something to think about.

Gee, mighty opinionated not to have ever used one yet. The 3PT works better than you might think. The 3PT 647 tiller, landscape rake, boxblade, chipper, pinestraw rake and 5' rearblade are more capable than you think. Add to that some tow behind equipment such as the broadcast seeder and drag harrow and you can do quite alot.

People who have used these mowers are not as concerned about the SE seat since it hinders watching the 3PH implements. Just something to think about.

Opinionated? No, I was just pointing out what I think about it, more like questions then me being uptight about it's design.

To me, I can clearly see how the mid mount blade would do a better job of MY conditions. It has the weight of the tractor above it stopping it from bouncing over high spots. Box blades that are pulled through wavy up and down spots, simply move up and down with the curve of the land. That's why I believe all machines should have down pressure on the 3PT, that way you can carve out high spots with a rear blade, or box blade. The weight of an implement alone is not enough in my opinion.

As far as 3PT and rear PTO, I won't be optioning those on unless I get a good deal, which is highly unlikely. The only thing I would have a use for is the 647 tiller, which is a pricey piece of equipment alone, never mind the 3PT and rear PTO options.

I'm trying to cheap my order as cheap as possible while still being smart about it. For example, I know I want for the SE seat, brush guard, and fenders. To order it with the tractor vs buying those items at a later date, saves me $400, it makes perfect sense to do it all now, and not pay more later. The 7-Iron deck is the same, it features are very important to me, so I am not going to skimp out by $500 and end up purchasing an entire new deck later on down the road, in which case I wasted $1,800 on the yellow deck, and then the yellow deck becomes a lawn ornament.

01-22-2012, 11:08 PM

bigtiller

Re: Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDTank

Definitely not looking for something that heavy duty. The downside to the tow behind is there is no weight pushing down on it. With the John Deere blade, the weight of the tractor itself would force the blade to stay low, unless you hit something that's sturdy enough to lift the entire tractor.

I also am not ordering my X748SE with 3PT, in my opinion putting a 3PT on a machine so small is well, wasteful. So anything 3PT wise is useless to me.

The mid mount blade has always interested me but I have never had one or even seen one mounted. It looks like it would be fun doing a little light grading.

Is it lifted with the front hydraulics or the rock shaft?

01-22-2012, 11:36 PM

JDTank

Re: Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigtiller

The mid mount blade has always interested me but I have never had one or even seen one mounted. It looks like it would be fun doing a little light grading.

Is it lifted with the front hydraulics or the rock shaft?

I told the salesman I am dealing with to add it to my quote so they have it all ready when I pull the trigger in a few weeks, I think it was $700 or close to that.

According to the attachment brochure on JD's website, it's hydraulically controlled for height and angle.

01-23-2012, 09:23 AM

Gittyup

Re: Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

I'm very doubtful it will dig. Good for smoothing loose material. But, the tractor isn't heavy enough for that type of blade to be effective digging. And you will still have the porpoising effect, only at the midpoint there'd be less ability to adjust for it.

You'd be much wiser to go 3 ph with a land plane/box blade. At least on the 3 pt, you can angle the blade fore/aft to cause it to dig. A boxblade is a far superior digger to a grader blade. Proper use just requires practice and patience. A hydrulic top link is a huge helper for this type of task. Should give that some thought too. The 3ph is a smart purchase. It lets you use cat0 and many small cat 1 attachments from any manufacturer (i.e. used attachments) and will make resale value of your machine much better too.

Anyway you go about it, it's going to take time to get wavy ground level, especially if you are new to this type of task.

I'm no expert, but I would concentrate on cutting the high spots first. Once those are loose, set up the box blade for "leveling" where it will not dig, but rather drop loose material into the low spots. You will have to go slow and account for porpoising by adjusting the 3ph as you go. Or after cutting the high spots with the box, switch to a grader blade or rake with with gauge wheels. And you can probably pull a pretty wide rake even on a X748.

01-23-2012, 09:41 AM

TimS

Re: Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDTank

With the John Deere blade, the weight of the tractor itself would force the blade to stay low, unless you hit something that's sturdy enough to lift the entire tractor.

I also am not ordering my X748SE with 3PT, in my opinion putting a 3PT on a machine so small is well, wasteful. So anything 3PT wise is useless to me.

Check this - I think you will find the mid-mount blade lift is off the rockshaft. It does not have downpressure - it's only the weight of the blade keeping it down, not the weight of the tractor.

Regarding the 3 point hitch, I have a Cat 0 on a 455. It's certainly not as versatile as a stronger, Cat 1 hitch on a larger tractor, but I find mine very useful. I have an A-frame with a trailer ball and pallet forks, and it's great for moving heavy items such as my snowblower attachment and mower deck, and dragging trailers around the lot. I can do all that by hand, but the 3 point makes it easy and quick - and I need to remind myself that while I can currently horse around 307 pounds of mower deck, I may not be able to do so as I get older.